Camp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making eBook

his fiery eyes will easily be seen, and the light
from the candle will shine sufficiently on the rifle
to clearly reveal the sights and admit of a sure aim.
There is still another method of night hunting by
the salt lick. The rifle is aimed directly at
the salted spot, and thus firmly fixed—­this
preparation being made in the daytime. When night
approaches, the hunter finds a piece of phosphorescent
wood or “fox fire,” and places it on the
ground, at a point which he has previously determined
to be on a direct line of the aim of his gun.
The “fox fire” is plainly seen from the
tree, and as soon as it is darkened he knows that
it is obscured by the deer, and he pulls the trigger
and kills his game.

Deer are hunted at all seasons of the year, but
ought not to [Page 219] be hunted during the
summer. The sport legitimately begins in September,
when the buck begins to harden his horns, and when
his flesh is in its best condition for food.
In October the deer is more shy, and during this month
and after, the sport is at its height. The deer
should be skinned from an incision down the belly,
and the hide spread on a hoop stretcher, page 275.

THE MOOSE.

We have already given so much space to the hunting
of the deer that we shall be obliged to cut short
our remarks on the Moose, particularly as it is a
representative of the same family. This animal
is the largest of the Deer tribe, being seven or eight
feet in height and often weighing over fifteen hundred
pounds. It is supplied with immense flat spreading
horns, sometimes expanding to the distance of six
feet between the tips. It is found in Maine,
Oregon and Washington Territories, and in the neighborhood
of the great lakes, and inhabits the regions as far
[Page 220] north as the Arctic Sea. Its color
is yellowish brown. The fur is thicker in winter
than summer, and on the neck of the animal the hair
is very coarse and hangs in an immense tuft of over
a foot in length. The flesh is most excellent
food and is much esteemed by trappers. The habits
of the moose are in most respects identical with the
deer, already described, and like them they form “yards”
during the winter season.

[Illustration]

In the North the moose is hunted on snow-shoes by
the natives, and in summer they are shot like the
deer. They are often very dangerous and terrible
creatures to hunt, and the utmost care and skill,
as described in regard to the deer, is required on
the part of the hunter in order to avoid detection
through the exquisite sense of smell which the animal
possesses. The moose is easily trapped.
The Newhouse, No. 6, is especially adapted for the
purpose, and it should be chained to a clog of stone
or wood of over fifty pounds in weight. Set the
trap in the “yard,” or beneath the snow
where the moose frequents, or in the summer, or fall
seasons, as described for the deer, using the same
methods in regard to baiting, etc.